Above 1200 Sq/FT 86's 20HP shop

[86turbodsl]

Toolboxes are in the house!

Got them picked up today and unloaded into the shop tonight. Still got more to do. Took a refreshment break. Pics to come.

 

[86turbodsl]

Ah the smell of Chinese steel...

They sold me 64446 and delivered 64445. Nicer full extension slides.

So far I like em.


Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[OldSoldier]

Sweet!

 

[86turbodsl]

I'm super excited. Now to get a bench built and get em loaded up.

I gotta say these series 2 boxes are pretty nice for harbor freight. The value is definitely there.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[Strouty]

The color choice is just bluetiful......

 

[86turbodsl]

Ha! I see what you did there...

 

[86turbodsl]

After spending about 2000 calories cranking the door open last night to bring the toolboxes in, which weigh about 300lbs each and needed the pallet jack to get into the building, i think i need to get off my duff and finish the garage door opener. Would have been SOOOO much easier...

 

[Strouty]

You will probably forget about it........






until the next time you need to open it.

 

[86turbodsl]

Yeah, you are probably right there.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[Strouty]

I am experienced.

 

[86turbodsl]

Ugh.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[86turbodsl]

Started moving tools over to the new boxes, playing around with organization. I'm thinking that might take a while. LOTS more room, for sure.

No pics, it's a work in progress at the moment. Hoping to pickup steel tomorrow morning if it's not raining.

 

[86turbodsl]

Been a while. I've been trying to keep my head above water. The first mow of the season, i had my kid mowing and he just stopped dead at one point. Wouldn't restart. I think i shared that i thought it was the starter. I thought. I ended up hauling it over to the shop, and the new starter and battery did not help. It wouldn't turn over. I pulled the plugs. Still wouldn't turn over. Uh OH. Pulled the engine out and took apart. It turned over then. Very strange. I found a chunk of rod end IN THE PAN. But all the rods were intact. Must have been a previous rod explosion. Not good. I figure it lodged between the crank counterweight and block. I found a rebuild kit online, but the rods that were in it are shot. I'm having a hell of a time finding some. Briggs opposed horizontal twin, FULL PRESSURE LUBE. Seems rare as hens teeth. I've had a pile of parts show up from ebay but nothing is right. Looking at repowering now.

Meanwhile, i've added a shop computer, which still needs a LAN line, and lucked into a pile of electronic ballasts at an auction, which let me install a couple of nice 2 tube lights over the workbench area.

I'm clearing space for the big tractor to work on the PTO clutch, and trying to get the garage door opener done so i can not crank for 45 minutes to get something into the shop. The mid bearing doesn't fit the tubing, so i'm sanding the ID out. Yikes i must be crazy.

More to come...

 

[rattle_snake]

Maybe you can use tractor's PTO to open garage door??

 

[86turbodsl]

Very funny

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[rattle_snake]

Very funny

Yes, I thought it was a clever yet nonsensical solution.

Not trying to be a ****, good luck with getting an electric winch or something to make it easier.

 

[Strouty]

OK, so I am going to tell you something you don't want to hear.......

Hire someone or rent a mower to mow the grass before it becomes a hayfield, that will take a bit of heat off your back. I would imagine a decent mower could be rented for $100 and it would save your sanity.

As for the re-power what about spending a little extra and buying a fully functional unit? This is all coming from my very rational, almost never heard from, logical side. I am currently reassessing all my projects, it is down right scary.

 

[86turbodsl]

OK, so I am going to tell you something you don't want to hear.......

Hire someone or rent a mower to mow the grass before it becomes a hayfield, that will take a bit of heat off your back. I would imagine a decent mower could be rented for $100 and it would save your sanity.

As for the re-power what about spending a little extra and buying a fully functional unit? This is all coming from my very rational, almost never heard from, logical side. I am currently reassessing all my projects, it is down right scary.

Way ahead of ya. We hired my neighbor to mow the area around the house. The plan is to fix the tractor pto and maintain with bushog and finish mower until the other mower is ready. I think i'm giving up on the briggs, i can't find the right rods or a new crank that are pressure lube. they are just too rare. I have a line on a yanmar that i hope to grab on saturday. i am fairly sure it will fit. it's a longer term project of course. as far as your suggestion to get a new ready to go mower, i did just that last year. And here i am. I don't think that's a real fix. Seems like anything reasonably priced is about ready to keel over already. Even high $$$ mowers like my neighbors need a cash infusion. My neighbor's $5K big boy needed several hundred dollars repairs this spring before it even got to mowing. I'm ready to plunk down a little extra cash on the White ZTR. I flat love mowing with the thing. But i'm not willing to spend the megabux a new ZTR would cost that would have any amount of durability. I figured if i have to plunk down some cash on a new engine, i might as well get an engine i want to run, so 2cyl yanmar it is. Maybe i'm feeding the monster i already am fighting, maybe... diesels are cool though...

 

[86turbodsl]

I am currently reassessing all my projects, it is down right scary.

I've done that before, i found it too frightening to revisit and/or think about and a bit depressing, so i usually choose not to...

 

[bimmer1980]

Tool boxes look great!!

Ug, mower issues.... I've had my share of that in the past too....

Shortly after my father-in-law passed 7 years ago, I spent way too much time keeping a MTD mower going... Took two of them and swapped motors, decks, front axle to keep it going. MTD--Made to Destruct! Of course, that took time away from building the garage..... I did eventually end up buying a F525 for mowing my 1/3 acre... a bit overkill, but eventually I will end up mowing my Mother-in-Laws yard as she continues to age. Right now she does mow, but I can see that changing in about 5 years...

The brother-in-law was using a 48" Crapsmans (yes that is what I call Craftsman) Mower to cut the grass on his 4 acre spread.... Yes! 4 acres.... that was taking 6 to 8 hours!!! After he blew up the motor, I rebuilt it and told him it was time to start upgrading.....

The Brother-in-law finally upgraded to a Kubota F2400 with 60" deck... Of course, he wasn't willing to buy the 72" F3680 at the dealer that I had him demo (it was used and priced at $5000).... The new to him F2400 needed all new bearings in the deck and I had to do all that..... The F2400 came with a snow plow and a blower, all for $3800. The new version of the F3600 is about $30,000.

Then the other brother-in-law blows up the engine in his "happy home owner" Toro mower.... I determined that it was more cost effective to buy a new engine and swap that on.....

Then most recently, the third brother-in-law caught his Ferris stand up mower on fire due to dry leaves getting packed into the crevices..... Since he is in Virginia, I have not had to mess with that one....

Whew, yup, I feel your pain with mowers..... Just make sure that the end result is worth the effort. I kick myself for spending as much time on the MTD mower as it is such a turd.

 

[86turbodsl]

I hear you. The north neighbor has a gas grasshopper. The south neighbor has a gas bad boy. Both of them bought new. I refuse to spend that kind of coin on a lawnmower.

I do need to do something soon though.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[bimmer1980]

Yeah, I'm with you there.... I would not want to buy a new mower either..... I think I paid about $850 for my used, low-hour F525, but I had been looking for one for about a year....

Its hard to beat a zero turn for mowing tho....

Do you have a pic of your mower?

 

[86turbodsl]

I thought I did, but I guess not. I'll go mine the internet.

Edit
http://www.tractordata.com/lawn-tractors/002/7/7/2778-white-fr-12.html

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[bimmer1980]

Ah, interesting...

I was curious, so I looked at a couple of diagrams. It seems to have an electric PTO clutch on the output of the engine shaft, but also a pulley on the other end? Is that correct? Seems odd to have things connected on both ends of the engine....

Otherwise, it seems to just be a 12.5" hp horizontal shaft engine..... with a twist based on your description....

 

[Strouty]

My Dad has about 5 acres to mow and he used to do it with a smaller tractor, he bought a used prowler or something like that, commercial grade, zero turn, hydrostatic drive, paid about $5000. It cut his mowing time down to less than three hours, it was taking him almost all day before, there are lots of obstacles and the grass is not contiguous, so it takes way more time than you would think. Over the last five years he has gotten back hundreds of hours of his time, so it was money well spent. There are deals out there, I think his was a 25 HP motor.

 

[86turbodsl]

Ah, interesting...

I was curious, so I looked at a couple of diagrams. It seems to have an electric PTO clutch on the output of the engine shaft, but also a pulley on the other end? Is that correct? Seems odd to have things connected on both ends of the engine....

Otherwise, it seems to just be a 12.5" hp horizontal shaft engine..... with a twist based on your description....

You are correct. It had a 12.5hp Briggs horizontal shaft opposed flathead twin. But also full pressure oil lube. Rare as a hens tooth. As I found. Most modern repower candidates are too tall for the seat area. I only have about 19 to 20in. Most gas engines have the crank centerline very close to the mounting deck, so recessing the engine lower to the ground doesn't help. Add to the fact that it has pto on both ends and you see why engines that fit are hard to come by. Only ones I've seen are opposed twins.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[86turbodsl]

My Dad has about 5 acres to mow and he used to do it with a smaller tractor, he bought a used prowler or something like that, commercial grade, zero turn, hydrostatic drive, paid about $5000. It cut his mowing time down to less than three hours, it was taking him almost all day before, there are lots of obstacles and the grass is not contiguous, so it takes way more time than you would think. Over the last five years he has gotten back hundreds of hours of his time, so it was money well spent. There are deals out there, I think his was a 25 HP motor.

This one I bought was the cheapest running zero turn I've ever found. Bought it after the test drive immediately. I don't have 5g sitting around for mowing. Single use tools annoy me. At least the tractor does other things too.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[bimmer1980]

does the yanmar engine option have the dual output shaft?

That mower could be quite the nightmare to try to repower...... Not to sound like a negative nellie.....

I will say, the JD F525 has a bit of a ******* power method too... it uses an integrated motor and transmission... it shares the engine oil with the hydrostatic drive. It makes for a compact design, but very limited if you destroy something on it.....

 

[86turbodsl]

All the light industrial diesels i've looked at, the crank centerline was quite a bit higher than gas. The effect was, you could lower the engine further in the chassis and get some height back.
The two candidates i identified are the yanmar 2TN66, and the Kubota Z482. Both are very short, very narrow engines with large flywheels. I should also note, packaging engineer is one of my duties.

The yanmar has a large flywheel on one end, and the balancer on the other end is drilled and tapped for a pto. So adapters on both ends gets me to a pulley.

I originally bought the white mower because i looked at the design and saw that most everything was standard industrial stuff. Not that many custom parts. Basically a parts bin design. Makes it easier to repair if i can just go down to motion and grab stuff off the shelf. Of course, what breaks? The rare as hell engine... sheesh.

 

[86turbodsl]

Diesel in the house.

Measurements show a near perfect fit. I'm stoked.


Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[bimmer1980]

That's good! How much did you have to pay for the engine? I'm curious how it would compare to a regular small gas engine.

How many accessories do you need to run the engine? Or is it just apply diesel fuel and electric, kick the tires and light the fire?

 

[86turbodsl]

100 dollars plus my time to drive 200 miles.

Apply diesel and crank. I like it's water cooled and can take a real alternator. Small engines like Briggs and the like are Mickey mouse.

This one has liners and can be totally rebuilt for about 500.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[Strouty]

Is the RPM range similar? I am only thinking big truck diesels, I know when I go from a gas truck to a diesel, the gears are usually way different due to RPM and torque/HP curve. I love the idea though, would be a big improvement over the existing engine.

 

[86turbodsl]

Small yanmars run up to 3600. Same.

The belts will even be pretty close when mounted. It's got a giant oil pan from a reefer install so I have to cut that down. But that's really it.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[86turbodsl]

Threw some oil in the sump, hooked up the battery charger and with a shot of ether it started sputtering. I think it'll run fine. Seems like a winner anyway. For the price, i can't turn it down. I do have a diesel fetish, and this will feed the itch nicely. I told the family my plan, which is:

1. Short term - fix the tractor PTO and go back to bush hogging.
2. Mid term - put the briggs back together with the bad rods and run it for the summer (it'll be a time bomb with those rods)
3. Long term - put the new engine in the mower over the winter.

My kid asked why don't you skip the mid term since we had the bush hog before and lived ok?

I like that kid.

 

[86turbodsl]

I stopped at TSC on the way home today. $5400 for a new mower. I remember why i like old stuff again.

Sometimes you need a refresher...

 

[Strouty]

Plant wildflowers and never mow again.....

 

[bimmer1980]

The diesel will be nice when it's done! For that price, it's hard to beat.

I think the new Briggs I put in the b-in-law mower was $500. But it was basically plug and play, which for me was key as I didn't want to spent any more of my time than necessary.... Sounds selfish, and know...

It would be interesting to see how the diesel fits in as a quick mock up....

I guess you need to find a place for the radiator?

 

[86turbodsl]

I am thinking a rad tower off the back end. I need to leave some room for the seat when the engine compartment is opened. Fan will be electric. I have a small one somewhere that will work fine. The distance between pulleys on the Briggs is 18in. The diesel distance from front to back is about 15.5. I should be able to get pulleys to line up.

I have to lower the engine in the frame a little due to height. I'll make a cradle and tie into the side frames. The bottom of the mower is flat and changing oil was always a pain for lack of access. The new engine will fix that.

The throttle control will work perfect. I'll need to add a return port to the fuel tank and a low pressure pump. Glow control will be a Ford relay. I'll add a mini alternator and we will be in business.

I'll start a thread of its own when I get started to not bog this one down. Last night I worked on the garage door opener. Making the keyed hubs and strap winders. The shaft is in place and tacked. Think I need to move one mount a little though. I'll try to get pics tonight.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[86turbodsl]

Plant wildflowers and never mow again.....

The weeds would still be taller. And bugs get a lot worse when you don't mow. Especially ticks.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk